Last month, a fire in downtown Los Angeles took over 150 firefighters several hours to extinguish. The fire occurred in a smoking paraphernalia business located in a two-story building. It completely destroyed the structure that housed the business and resulted in nearby buildings being yellow-tagged due to property damage.

The damage to neighboring businesses was extensive from the extreme heat, smoke infiltration and water used to put out the flames. Large building fires like these typically produce a significant amount of smoke that can be carried long distances in the wind. This can be a major issue in congested downtown areas where businesses and homes are often built right next to each other. Smoke is filled with combustion by-products that include soot, ash and char. These materials can easily infiltrate most properties that are in close proximity, causing damaging effects to properties and health concerns for people due to strong odors and breathing smoke residues. These residues can also cause corrosion, etching and discoloration on surfaces within a property over time.

“Property owners, managers and tenants that have businesses or homes close to the scene of a major structural fire need to be on the lookout for smoke residues, water damage and even mold growth that can begin to appear in as short as 48 hours if water has infiltrated a building,” said Michael Chapman, Laboratory Manager of LA Testing’s Huntington Beach facility. “Damaged buildings that require repairs may also have issues associated with asbestos-containing materials and lead-based paints that may be present in some properties.”

LA Testing offers comprehensive analytical services and sampling supplies to identify all of these potential issues following a fire. These services can be instrumental when filing an insurance claim and for ensuring a building is properly and safely remediated. LA Testing has sponsored an educational video about smoke damage after a fire that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/1Ei8z-uJTn0.

To learn more about testing a property for smoke and water damage, mold, asbestos, lead or other indoor air quality and environmental issues, please visit www.LATesting.com, email info@LATesting.com or call (800) 755-1794. For access and more information about fire and smoke damage, asbestos, lead or mold test kits, visit www.EMSLTestKits.com.

About LA Testing

LA Testing is California’s leading laboratory for air quality testing of asbestos, mold, lead, VOCs, formaldehyde, soot, char, ash and smoke damage, particulates and other chemicals. In addition, LA Testing offers a full range of air sampling and investigative equipment to professionals and the general public. LA Testing maintains an extensive list of accreditations including: AIHA LAP LLC., AIHA ELLAP, AIHA EMLAP and AIHA IHLAP, NVLAP, CDC ELITE, State of California, State of Hawaii Department of Health and other states. LA Testing, along with the EMSL Analytical, Inc. network, has multiple laboratories throughout California including Huntington Beach, San Diego, San Leandro and South Pasadena.